Pope speaks out on economic imbalances
Thomas J. Reese writes in the Washington Post about the pope’s message on the economy:
Pope Benedict’s long awaited encyclical calls for a radical rethinking of economics so that it is guided not simply by profits but by “an ethics which is people-centered.”
“Profit is useful if it serves as a means towards an end,” he writes in Caritas in veritate (Charity in Truth), but “once profit becomes the exclusive goal, if it is produced by improper means and without the common good as its ultimate end, it risks destroying wealth and creating poverty.”
He decries that “Corruption and illegality are unfortunately evident in the conduct of the economic and political class in rich countries…as well as in poor ones.” He also says that “Financiers must rediscover the genuinely ethical foundation of their activity, so as not to abuse the sophisticated instruments which can serve to betray the interests of savers.”
Benedict, like Paul VI, whose encyclical Populorum Progressio (Development of Peoples) he is commemorating, is concerned about the “The scandal of glaring inequalities.” Both Benedict and Paul hoped that economic development would “produce real growth, of benefit to everyone and genuinely sustainable.” Benedict disappointedly acknowledges that “The world’s wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase” [italics in text].
Reese adds:
While Benedict acknowledges the role of the market, he emphasizes that “the social doctrine of the Church has unceasingly highlighted the importance of distributive justice and social justice for the market economy.” He unflinchingly supports the “redistribution of wealth” when he talks about the role of government. “Grave imbalances are produced,” he writes, “when economic action, conceived merely as an engine for wealth creation, is detached from political action, conceived as a means for pursuing justice through redistribution.”
Should the pope be speaking about such matters?
Is he right? Are there grave imbalances produced by economic action?
Jamie Riley is the P-D letters editor and gatekeeper of the letters blog. Before joining the editorial page in May 2005, she was a reporter and page designer. Jamie lives in University City with her husband, Charles, daughter, Elise, and the world's best Jack Russell terrier, Logan, better known as Stinky. 
I find myself absolutely dumbfounded to realize that I agree 100% with something that the man said. The Pope as a head of state, and the head of the church has as much right to speak on the topic as anyone does. There are dangers to unbridled capitalism as we see in our county today. The quest to acquire more endlessly seems to be the driving force behind all business today. There was a time when people became doctors because they had a desire to heal. Today people become doctors to acquire money. Everything has become a business, there is no genuine heart felt charity anymore. You give to your church to take it off of your taxes. There is a great need for the rethinking of :wealth,” world wide.
Guess what tictac, I work to acquire money too! I didn’t know it was something to be ashamed of.
The lazy poor are just as much to blame for the grave imbalances in this country as the greedy rich.
Grave imbalances come – in large part – from putting others ahead of yourself and the proxy of that, when government lines up people in order of their perceived importance; looting some for the benefits of others.
That the pope can resolve the conflict between his Charity in Truth and the hell that was his country during his youth means he rejects what I think is the cause: altruism – state altruism. All of this otherism, forever giving of yourself and taking from some & giving to others, not only is horribly unjust and embraces a warped sense of man, it fosters an expanding dependency class – in some ways crippling them as much as cutting off their limbs. In the end, there’s never enough sustainable productivity to keep up with the looting, and then comes the violence and death – the grave imbalances.
Every culture has their corrupt elements. The choice is between Madoff’s criminal and relatively rare conduct and the US’ legal conduct (with social security [and their countless other altruistic schemes]); at lease with Madoff, the relationship was at will.
According to Adam Smith’s “Invisible Hand”, a man seeking profit benefits all of society. Capitalism produces wealth and freedom while socialism produces tyranny and poverty. People are naturally drawn to capitalism while socialism is enforced at gunpoint. The Pope is not berating capitalism nor endorsing socialism but reminding us to serve God, not ourselves.
The Catholic Church has forfeited its moral authority by not aggressively rooting out the moral depravity in its clergy and the higher-ups who protected those predators. And if the Pope wants to talk redistribution, let’s see the Church sell off all its treasures and wealth and subscribe to the lifestyle of the original Good Shepherd.
Well, it seems the Merc Man has everything figured out. I’m very happy I don’t live with someone like you.
First off, Jamie, you quoted someone’s interpretation of the Pope’s encyclical. You didn’t quote the encyclical. I would say to you and the Washington Post (both of whom are obviously liberals), that the Pope is not a liberal ally in this regard. The Pope actually cares about human suffering and the unfairness is some economies where the poor never have opportunities or even a chance at getting out of poverty. You liberals focus on complaining about “corporate America” and your perceived evils of it, with faux concern for the poor.
If you’re looking for an economy where there are “grave imbalances,” it’s not in America. Most people have achieved a lifestyle those in other nations only dream of because of the evil of “corporate profits.”
Someday the truth will seep into the liberal brain and you will understand that America is not the bad nation you want to portray us as.
Cynics’ predictable diatribes notwithstanding, the Catholic Church is and is likely to remain the largest private relief organization in the world. That is a verifiable fact. It is the largest single private provider of educational services in the United States and in the world, and also the largest single provider of private hospital services in the world. You don’t hear millions of the world’s poorest people complaining about the Church’s contributions toward reliving human suffering and promoting the dignity of all people, especially the world’s poorest. Pope Benedict comes at the topic of truth and charity from a position of particular relevance. It would be a worthwhile use of time and effort to hear him out.
Jay,
Let me guess–you voted for Obama so he could “spread the wealth around”, right? As long as it’s someone else’s wealth.
And you believe the Church is right in paying hush money to victims of sexual predation by priets rather than expel the perpetrators and expose them to criminal prosecution? The Pope promised to rid the Church of “filth”, as he characterized reports of abuse of boys by certain members of the priesthood. So far, that hasn’t happened.
I don’t expect any human being to be perfect like Christ. But how can the Church address the very serious moral questions of our time (radical Islamism/Jihadism, abortion, poverty, salvery, injustice, war, dissolution of the family, falling church attendance in the Western world, etc, etc) when it sweeps its own moral failings under the rug?
In the same vein, the Pope (and Benedict is not the first to do so) attacks capitalism and promotes redistributive socialism. But it is capitalist societies which have the greatest religious freedom and provide the lion’s share of the Church’s funds. Meanwhile, the Pope lives in a castle, presides over some of the greatest collections of artwork in the world, and lives in a portion of Italy that exists as its own country. I know he didn’t create the environment in which he lives, but it sure is a far cry from living under the stars and owning one piece of clothing your entire adult life.
Besides, you hurt my feelings when you said you woudn’t want to live with somone like me!
I agree with Mercman. The catholic church IS the definition of grave imbalances.